Some 300 Florida Department of Economic Opportunity workers at the old Publix in the Northwood Centre face a bathroom crisis this week that has flushed them out of their normal work routine.

With only two functioning single-stall restrooms in the renovated grocery store, they can either put up with 30-minute lines or leave the building and endure a cold walk to access one of the two open restrooms in the allegedly mold-contaminated building next door.

“Staff were notified yesterday that while a portion of the restrooms in the office were not working, working restrooms were still available in the building,” DEO spokeswoman Karen Smith said. “Additional restrooms in the building next door were also offered.”

The DEO is working with the building's owners to repair the restrooms as quickly as possible, Smith said.

This is not the first time sanitary conditions have forced state workers out of their work stalls at the Northwood Centre.

Ryan Andrews, attorney for the employees, said he was not surprised the workers were having problems with the restrooms.

A client of Andrews who works there said four of the six restrooms in the building are not working and as many as 20 people are waiting in line for 30 minutes — much longer than the breaks they are allowed to have during work. The worker also said there are delays and clogging.

“The toilets weren’t working back then,” Andrews said. “They weren’t designed to be used twenty times a day.”

Bruce Lyons, receiver for the Northwood Centre property, said property managers are committed to re-opening the restrooms as soon as possible.

"It is unfortunate that a backed-up sewer line has made it necessary for employees to use alternate bathrooms while repair work is being done," Lyons said in a statement. "We have been working to get the lines cleared as quickly as possible, but the recent cold weather affected some equipment and the process is taking longer than we would like."

Contact Schweers at jschweers@tallahassee.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeffschweers